The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 17, April 29, 2007, Article 14

1913 LIBERTY NICKEL SELLS FOR $5 MILLION

Speaking of Eric Newman's onetime 1913 Liberty Nickel hoard, as Dave 
Wnuck notes, the Eliasberg specimen traded hands this week at $5 million. 
A number of newspapers picked up the story. Here are excerpts from 
The Asbury Park Press (of New Jersey):

"A township-based coin shop has sold a rare 1913 'Liberty Head' nickel 
to a Southern California collector in a lucrative transaction that marks 
the most ever paid for a nickel — and the second-highest price ever paid 
for any coin, according to the coin dealer who arranged the sale.

"'Now we can say we've conquered the 1913 nickels as good as we can,' 
said Laura Sperber, co-president of Legend Numismatics, which sold 
the coin.

"Sperber said the coin was well-traveled, visiting many states and coin 
conventions. It never went anywhere without 'heavy security.'

"The $5 million paid Wednesday was second only to the $7.59 million 
paid in July 2002 for a $20 Double Eagle gold coin from 1933.

"'We bought the coin because we have a fascination with the 1913 
nickel,' said Sperber, who bought the coin with Bruce Morelan, a 
partner in Legend."

To read the complete article, see:  Full Story

[Interestingly, at least one paper covering the sale made the same 
mistake we've seen before over the spelling of the word "dies", in 
its retelling of the "story" of how Samuel Brown came into possession 
of the coins.

"As the story goes, Samuel Brown was working at the Philadelphia Mint 
when orders came down in December 1912 not to mint anymore “Miss Liberty” 
nickels in favor of a new design featuring a bison on the back and a 
Native American Indian on the front. The dyes had already been made, 
however, and Brown somehow ended up with five 1913 nickels with “Miss 
Liberty” on the front and a Roman number V on the back. It's not clear 
if the coins were made before or after the design switch, or who made 
them, but Brown eventually left the Mint." -Editor]

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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